Greg Sullivan is research director Of the Pioneer Institute and a former state inspector general. He calls what really happened with Umass Boston's budget crisis-- the best kept secret in town. Sullivan says former chancellor Keith Motley-- should have never been forced to step down 2 years ago-- That It was actually UMASS President Marty Meehan and the school's central Board of Trustees.. who were to blame for a massive math error that set off a budget crisis. greg Sullivan: Sullivan says UMass leaders then covered up their mistake.. By hiring a consultant to claim "mismanagement" and throw Motley under the bus. Sullivan says to add insult to injury.. Umass trustees went on to spend 70-million in cash to buy Mt Ida college-- leaving Umass Boston to cover it's campus shortfall itself. to make steep cuts in class courses, faculty, they even closed the daycare center) in a statement tonight, a spokesman for Umass hit back-- saying The Pioneer Institute appears to have concluded that the operating deficit at UMass Boston..' was created either by an administrative 'error' or by 'directive,' depending on which part of the report you read. Neither are accurate, both defy logic, and the Pioneer Institute's attempts at supporting evidence are poorly researched and vetted.' All of this comes as Umass President Marty Meehan is battling state lawmakers for more funding. Keith Motley, who is still employed by UMass in a reduced role, did not respond to our request for an interview.

A government watchdog group has concluded it was faulty projections by the central budget office of UMass, not mismanagement by then-chancellor Keith Motley, that created the ongoing financial crisis at UMass Boston.Motley stepped down from the role of chancellor in 2017. According to a report by the Pioneer Institute, UMass President Marty Meehan and the school's board of trustees are primarily responsible for the $30 million budget deficit at UMass Boston, which ultimately cost Motley his job. The report found that when Meehan and the trustees discovered they had overestimated how much money UMass Boston had in its reserve accounts, they wrongly called it an operating deficit and blamed it on Motley.A spokesperson for UMass Boston responded to the report with this statement: "We have yet to complete a full accounting of all the factual inaccuracies in the latest Pioneer Institute ‘white paper.’ The Pioneer Institute appears to have concluded that the $30 million operating deficit at UMass Boston, defined by KPMG in their audit of the campus budget process, was created either by an administrative ‘error’ or by ‘directive,’ depending on which part of the report you read. Neither are accurate, both defy logic, and the Pioneer Institute’s attempts at supporting evidence are poorly researched and vetted (one footnote is a link to the trailer for an Avengers film). When budget issues surfaced at UMass Boston in FY16, system administration went to work on addressing them with the campus and implementing new fiscal accountability and oversight measures to avoid a similar situation in the future. There was no error in the primary reserve calculation, no directive to replenish reserves, and depreciation expenses have long been reported in budgets, forecasts and financial statements. System office oversight did not ‘trigger’ the UMass Boston deficit any more than water from a fire hose triggers a fire. The Pioneer Institute’s bias is laid bare in this report.

BOSTON —

A government watchdog group has concluded it was faulty projections by the central budget office of UMass, not mismanagement by then-chancellor Keith Motley, that created the ongoing financial crisis at UMass Boston.

Motley stepped down from the role of chancellor in 2017.

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According to a report by the Pioneer Institute, UMass President Marty Meehan and the school's board of trustees are primarily responsible for the $30 million budget deficit at UMass Boston, which ultimately cost Motley his job.

The report found that when Meehan and the trustees discovered they had overestimated how much money UMass Boston had in its reserve accounts, they wrongly called it an operating deficit and blamed it on Motley.

A spokesperson for UMass Boston responded to the report with this statement:

"We have yet to complete a full accounting of all the factual inaccuracies in the latest Pioneer Institute ‘white paper.’ The Pioneer Institute appears to have concluded that the $30 million operating deficit at UMass Boston, defined by KPMG in their audit of the campus budget process, was created either by an administrative ‘error’ or by ‘directive,’ depending on which part of the report you read.

Neither are accurate, both defy logic, and the Pioneer Institute’s attempts at supporting evidence are poorly researched and vetted (one footnote is a link to the trailer for an Avengers film).

When budget issues surfaced at UMass Boston in FY16, system administration went to work on addressing them with the campus and implementing new fiscal accountability and oversight measures to avoid a similar situation in the future.

There was no error in the primary reserve calculation, no directive to replenish reserves, and depreciation expenses have long been reported in budgets, forecasts and financial statements.

System office oversight did not ‘trigger’ the UMass Boston deficit any more than water from a fire hose triggers a fire. The Pioneer Institute’s bias is laid bare in this report.